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Businesses in Royal Palm Beach fed up with unruly teens on bikes

Posted at 5:17 PM, May 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-15 18:58:32-04

Videos of local teenagers on bikes that once filled social media are no longer there.

It appears the videos were deleted of a YouTube Channel for the West Palm Beach Bike Life group that is involved in an investigation in West Palm Beach where teens on bikes reportedly threatened and assaulted a man. 

Now, businesses in Royal Palm Beach are saying they too have had similar issues with kids on bikes. 

The atmosphere is pretty relaxing inside Festive Cuts Hair Salon off Royal Palm Beach Boulevard, but when the evening comes, employees are looking out for unruly teens on bikes in the shopping plaza.

"These kids were riding past the door, swinging the door open, grabbing the door handle yelling, cursing," said Amber Martin who manages the salon with her mom.

She said her mom, the owner, has called the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office many times and has taken pictures of the kids causing trouble.  

"They're also chasing people throughout the parking lot. They've also chased my mom a couple times leaving at night," said Martin. 

A PBSO report says in March deputies responded to the plaza across the street when 20 or more kids on bikes were riding into oncoming traffic, distracting drivers, and harassing customers. 

Employees at the Dollar Tree around the corner could not go on camera but said one night the kids knocked down items inside their store and jumped up on the cashier counter. 

"They're very frustrated because it's a danger to the customers," said Kelly Lammart at Festive Cuts. 

Ron Jarriel lives nearby and said half a dozen teenagers surrounded his truck when he was going to dinner with his wife in the shopping plaza across the street. 

"I told them you need to get out of the street before you get hurt. As soon as I told them that, they started cussing at me, pretty foul mouthed; shooting me birds and yelling and stuff like that," said Jarriel.

Jarriel said he told his wife to call 911. 

"The 11-year-old which was the nastiest with his mouth, he told me to come on, follow me I'll take you my father and he'll beat your a-double-s and if I had been by myself, I'd said take me to your father son, let me have a talk with him," added Jarriel. 

Festive Cuts has added cameras after one of the kids spit on their window and threw a water bottle at the window. 

"It is intimidating you’re sitting there, you’re going about your business and you should be allowed to and not worry about a teenager or young adult coming and doing stuff to you," said Lammart. 

PBSO has been able to make contact with some of the teens and their parents after being called out to complaints. 

Businesses in Royal Palm Beach say they will continue to call PBSO when they see them causing trouble in the shopping plazas.